Posted by Jed Lewison on Fri Oct 17, 2008 at 8:55 PM Pacific

Why Colin Powell's Endorsement Would Be Important

I don't know if Powell will endorse Barack Obama or not, but it's hard to imagine that he won't endorse somebody during his Sunday appearance on Meet The Press. (Would they really invite him on to say he's undecided?)

Whoever Powell endorses, I doubt that it would sway most of the readers of this site, given what he did to enable the Iraq War. But setting that aside for a moment, the thing that really matters is electing Barack Obama by the widest possible margin, and Colin Powell can play an important role in making that happen.

As FreedomFries pointed out in the comments, the real value of a Powell endorsement is that it would singlehandedly destroy the entire GOP argument against Barack Obama.

It's not just that Powell is a respected figure among political independents and conservatives. It's not just that he's a Republican, and it's not just that Powell is as mainstream as you can get.

It's that if the GOP caricature of Barack Obama were true, Colin Powell would never endorse him. Given the dynamics of our discourse, on questions of patriotism, Powell is about as good a character witness as you can get.

So with that all being said, I predict that one of two things will happen. Either (a) Powell will endorse McCain, and the GOP attacks on Obama will intensify; or (b) Powell will endorse Obama, and the GOP will be forced to destroy Powell before they can touch Obama.

Whatever happens, it won't change my opinion of Barack Obama, nor should it change yours. But if Powell does do the right thing and endorse Obama, he's going to be creating one hell of a political problem for John McCain.

Why Colin Powell's Endorsement Would Be Important

I don't know if Powell will endorse Barack Obama or not, but it's hard to imagine that he won't endorse somebody during his Sunday appearance on Meet The Press. (Would they really invite him on to say he's undecided?)

Whoever Powell endorses, I doubt that it would sway most of the readers of this site, given what he did to enable the Iraq War. But setting that aside for a moment, the thing that really matters is electing Barack Obama by the widest possible margin, and Colin Powell can play an important role in making that happen.

As FreedomFries pointed out in the comments, the real value of a Powell endorsement is that it would singlehandedly destroy the entire GOP argument against Barack Obama.

It's not just that Powell is a respected figure among political independents and conservatives. It's not just that he's a Republican, and it's not just that Powell is as mainstream as you can get.

It's that if the GOP caricature of Barack Obama were true, Colin Powell would never endorse him. Given the dynamics of our discourse, on questions of patriotism, Powell is about as good a character witness as you can get.

So with that all being said, I predict that one of two things will happen. Either (a) Powell will endorse McCain, and the GOP attacks on Obama will intensify; or (b) Powell will endorse Obama, and the GOP will be forced to destroy Powell before they can touch Obama.

Whatever happens, it won't change my opinion of Barack Obama, nor should it change yours. But if Powell does do the right thing and endorse Obama, he's going to be creating one hell of a political problem for John McCain.

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